Charlie vs. Willy
Sweetie and I went to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory last night. I was very excited about seeing it as:
1) Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is one of my favorite kids' movies ever.
2) If nothing else, a Tim Burton remake of the movie would be visually spectacular.
So, on the most part we've got a winner. Visually spectacular: of course. Great performances by many. Johnny Depp's Wonka is much different than Gene Wilder's, but I think both represent the character well. The kids all do wonderful jobs.
The Oompa Loompa's in "Charlie" are astounding! One guy plays all the Oompa Loompas - and there are a LOT of them. The fact that these little fella's are doing it all is quite apparent in the remake.
"Charlie" also has a great homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey that is quite entertaining, and makes 2001 make a lot more sense in my mind now. I'm not going to give it away, so you can see for yourself, but I'm still giggling about it. And the movie made some nice nods to the original. They kept, almost entirely intact, one of my favorite lines from the original movie: "Violet, you're turning violet, Violet!" (In the remake it's simply, "Violet, you're turning violet!") Although they didn't keep what is likely my favorite line, "By god, it's gum!" (Don't ask me why these are my favorites, I just love them!)
That said, there are some issues I had with the remake. The main one being, they have changed the moral of the story. If you are still planning on seeing the movie, and want to be surprised, you may want to stop reading now, but I don't give away anything that's not on the official movie website, so I don't feel like I'm letting out some huge spoiler.
In the original the moral of the story was that Charlie was, at heart, a good, honest boy. Yes, he had his screw-ups, but fizzy lifting drink is hard to resist and in the end his honesty and good heart won out. And thus, he won a chocolate factory and lived happily ever after. Which makes perfect sense, as Charlie is the foil to these spoiled rotten, self-obsessed, dishonest kids. This is what makes the movie timeless... even as a grown-up I need to sometimes suppress the Veruca, the Mike, the Augustus or the Violet in me, but just pop that movie into the VCR and it helps me put it all in perspective.
In the new version there is a lot of backstory added, which does add for some great entertainment and explanation on how Wonka ended up this way, regarding Wonka's father. And when Charlie is first offered the chocolate factory he refuses it, because it would mean leaving his family behind. Willy must make amends with his dad, and the offer must include the whole Bucket clan before Charlie will take over the chocolate factory. Which is not a BAD moral to the story, but just doesn't fit with the rest of the film. I mean, the four spoiled rotten children are who they are because of their parents. If the parents would put down a little more of an iron fist, or not push the kid so hard to win, they probably wouldn't be the holy terrors they are. None of the kids invited into the factory have issues with their parents (well, Veruca has issues with her Dad when he doesn't give her what she wants, but it's not like that ever happens), so I don' t know that it makes Charlie that much a foil to them. If they were offered the opportunity to take over the chocolate factory and abandon their parents they'd probably say yes, but more out of what their parents taught them rather than an intense dislike of their family.
That ending just isn't as grand for me. I mean, it's lovely and all, but it doesn't seem to follow what the rest of the movie is about. So although I shall appreciate the new version, the old one will remain high on my list of favorite movies.
1) Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is one of my favorite kids' movies ever.
2) If nothing else, a Tim Burton remake of the movie would be visually spectacular.
So, on the most part we've got a winner. Visually spectacular: of course. Great performances by many. Johnny Depp's Wonka is much different than Gene Wilder's, but I think both represent the character well. The kids all do wonderful jobs.
The Oompa Loompa's in "Charlie" are astounding! One guy plays all the Oompa Loompas - and there are a LOT of them. The fact that these little fella's are doing it all is quite apparent in the remake.
"Charlie" also has a great homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey that is quite entertaining, and makes 2001 make a lot more sense in my mind now. I'm not going to give it away, so you can see for yourself, but I'm still giggling about it. And the movie made some nice nods to the original. They kept, almost entirely intact, one of my favorite lines from the original movie: "Violet, you're turning violet, Violet!" (In the remake it's simply, "Violet, you're turning violet!") Although they didn't keep what is likely my favorite line, "By god, it's gum!" (Don't ask me why these are my favorites, I just love them!)
That said, there are some issues I had with the remake. The main one being, they have changed the moral of the story. If you are still planning on seeing the movie, and want to be surprised, you may want to stop reading now, but I don't give away anything that's not on the official movie website, so I don't feel like I'm letting out some huge spoiler.
In the original the moral of the story was that Charlie was, at heart, a good, honest boy. Yes, he had his screw-ups, but fizzy lifting drink is hard to resist and in the end his honesty and good heart won out. And thus, he won a chocolate factory and lived happily ever after. Which makes perfect sense, as Charlie is the foil to these spoiled rotten, self-obsessed, dishonest kids. This is what makes the movie timeless... even as a grown-up I need to sometimes suppress the Veruca, the Mike, the Augustus or the Violet in me, but just pop that movie into the VCR and it helps me put it all in perspective.
In the new version there is a lot of backstory added, which does add for some great entertainment and explanation on how Wonka ended up this way, regarding Wonka's father. And when Charlie is first offered the chocolate factory he refuses it, because it would mean leaving his family behind. Willy must make amends with his dad, and the offer must include the whole Bucket clan before Charlie will take over the chocolate factory. Which is not a BAD moral to the story, but just doesn't fit with the rest of the film. I mean, the four spoiled rotten children are who they are because of their parents. If the parents would put down a little more of an iron fist, or not push the kid so hard to win, they probably wouldn't be the holy terrors they are. None of the kids invited into the factory have issues with their parents (well, Veruca has issues with her Dad when he doesn't give her what she wants, but it's not like that ever happens), so I don' t know that it makes Charlie that much a foil to them. If they were offered the opportunity to take over the chocolate factory and abandon their parents they'd probably say yes, but more out of what their parents taught them rather than an intense dislike of their family.
That ending just isn't as grand for me. I mean, it's lovely and all, but it doesn't seem to follow what the rest of the movie is about. So although I shall appreciate the new version, the old one will remain high on my list of favorite movies.
posted by Swankette at 10:18 AM
2 Comments:
I was never sure how I felt about the original. There was something about it that just made me feel odd, and I can't even really watch it to this day. I'll see the re-make when it's on HBO...
Maybe I have a chocolate phobia...LOL!
I'm with you, Shannin. I think Willy Wonka is creepy. And from the previews, I think Johnny Depp doesn't look any less creepy. And don't get me started on the Oompa Loompas. Creepy.
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